Katherine Sleeper Walden (November 27, 1862 – March 3, 1949) was an American environmental conservationist and community activist in Wonalancet, New Hampshire. Before moving to New Hampshire in 1890, Katherine was an active community member and among the first female journalists in Massachusetts.
Following her arrival in New Hampshire, Katherine founded Wonalancet Farm and the Wonalancet Out Door Club and married famed explorer and dog breeder Arthur Treadwell Walden in 1902. Her conservation efforts and fight against New England's "Timber Barons" succeeded in protecting thousands of acres of old-growth forest in the White Mountains.
As a result of financial troubles resulting from the Great Depression and Katherine's declining health, Katherine and Arthur were forced to sell Wonalancet Farm and move to nearby Brook Walden. There, a fire broke out and trapped Katherine inside. While rescuing her and attempting to extinguish the fire, Arthur was killed. Katherine was unable to recover from the emotional and physical trauma; she died two years later.
The Sleepers, a pair of mountains in the White Mountains, and nearby Mount Katherine are named after Katherine. The Kate Sleeper Trail, which traverses both peaks of The Sleepers, is also named for her.
Katherine Sleeper Walden, born Katherine Sleeper, was born on November 27, 1862, in the Greater Boston area and was the daughter of Zilpha Loring Thomas and Charles Frederick Sleeper. The Sleepers were a well-respected and wealthy family in the Boston area. Katherine's grandfather, John Sherburne Sleeper, was a sailor, shipmaster, children's book author, journalist, newspaper editor, and politician. He held public office as mayor of Roxbury and as a Massachusetts state senator.
In 1872, when Katherine was ten years old, her mother died. This caused Katherine and her father to move into the home of Katherine's grandfather in Roxbury. In Roxbury, Katherine completed her education, participated in the community, attended the Berlitz School for French, learned music, and avidly participated in a local women's athletic club. She frequented the Chocorua area of Tamworth to visit family and came to love the White Mountains of rural New Hampshire through these trips.
At the beginning of her adult life, Katherine began working in her father's newspaper and became a journalist. Her journalistic career began within a decade of when the first woman to be employed in a writing role at a Boston newspaper, Sallie Joy White, was hired by the Boston Press.
In 1890, Katherine was faced with serious health complications and so, following a doctor's recommendation that she leave the city, took an extended trip to Tamworth, New Hampshire. While at a local boarding house, Katherine decided to open an inn in the area. During her time in Tamworth she grew close to her friend and cousin by marriage, Arthur Treadwell Walden.
Katherine was 28 at the time but often claimed that she was much younger. Her claims of youth are generally attributed to her wishing to appear closer in age to her friend, Arthur, who was 10 years her younger. She is believed to have been under five feet tall and was described by contemporaries as having a "high-pitched" voice and being generally youthful to such an extent that she was "by tradition eighteen years old."
Arthur and Katherine went to the small settlement of Birch Intervale, and Katherine decided to purchase Theophilous Brown's 1,300-acre (530 ha) farm on the south side of Sandwich Ridge, which included 600 acres (240 ha) of cleared fields, 700 acres (280 ha) of woodland, and a farmhouse built in 1814 that Katherine believed was ideal for being transitioned into an inn. Once in sight of the property, Katherine famously announced, "This is where I'm going to live!" Katherine named the property Wonalancet Farm after a poem by Lucy Larcom, who was herself enamored by the White Mountains.
She hired Arthur to manage the new Wonalancet Farm and maintain the farm's crops while she ran the inn. In managing the farm's large property, Arthur was given the opportunity and means to breed and train sled dogs. These efforts produced the Chinook breed, which is now the official state dog breed of New Hampshire.
Conservationism, activism, and volunteerism
Revitalizing and organizing Wonalancet
During the winter of 1890–91, Katherine made major renovations on the farmhouse and quickly became a respected member of the community. That August, Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) President Charles E. Fay and Councilor William Ladd stayed at the inn during a visit to the area. Katherine believed that the town of Birch Intervale, which was nicknamed "Poverty Flats", could be revitalized by accommodating a tourism industry that had yet to exist in the White Mountains, and thus invited the visiting AMC officers to meet with local landowners at Wonalancet Farm. At this meeting, Katherine explained the AMC's work in creating trails throughout the country to locals and pitched the idea of clearing a hiking path from the village to the summit of Mount Passaconaway.
After persuading the town, Katherine organized the AMC leaders and a group of local farmers to meet a few days later to work on the proposed Dicey's Mill Trail path. That path remains the most popular on the mountain. In the subsequent years, Katherine organized efforts to clear and beautify residents' properties, repair the town's roadways, and renovate the local chapel. In 1893, Katherine made the decision that Birch Intervale would benefit from a post office and thus became the town's first postmistress. In order to avoid confusion with the nearby town of Intervale, Birch Intervale was renamed Wonalancet.
Katherine's encouragement of tourism showed its value within months as the trails found immediate success with reporters beginning to praise Wonalancet Farm as a worthwhile Summer destination. Wonalancet was soon regarded as being among the foremost rural destinations in New England. Newspapers referenced the natural beauty of the area with details of the newly built trails.
In 1898, to further encourage tourism and improve the area, Katherine successfully formed the Wonalancet Out Door Club (WODC), saying "Its purpose shall be the building and maintenance of paths, to improve the place and develop its natural beauties for the attraction of summer guests." The WODC cut paths, created maps, set guide boards, planted roadside trees, and established a campsite at the foot of a nearby mountain. Before 1891, no hiking trails or routes to the local summits existed. By 1901, at least nine unique trails were maintained for public use.By the time Katherine married Arthur Treadwell Walden in 1902, the couple had lived together for twelve years at Wonalancet Farm. The pair hosted and sponsored winter sports and activities, such as Arthur's pastime of dog sledding, long before other destinations in the northeast. Wonalancet quickly grew to be the foremost year-round tourist hub in the White Mountains, earning widespread fame.
Arthur also greatly contributed to the farm's popularity. His sled dogs and their breeding program gained national renown and attracted hundreds of visitors to Wonalancet. Interested visitors often received personal, in-depth tours from Arthur. The sustained fame of Wonalancet through to the modern day is in part a result of Arthur's renown and the notable impact he had on sled dog racing in New England.